Dental chair.



No. 713,282. Patented Nov. ll, |902..

A. w. BROWNE. DENTAL CHAIR.-

(Application filed Mar. 5, 1901.}

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Palentei Nov. ll, I902. A W. BROWNE.

DENTAL CHAIR.

(A ppliealfiion filed Mar. 5, 1901,

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INVENTO Ri mo. 7|3,282. Y Patentedmvyu, I902. A. w. BHOWNE.

DENTAL CHAIR.

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No. 7|3,282. Patented Nov. ll, I902. A. w. BROWNE. DENTAL -Cl-lAiR.

(Application filed Mar. 5, 1901.1

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(Application filed Mar. 5, 1901A (No Model.)

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WITNESSES:

'UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR W. BROWNE, OF PRINOEBAY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE S. S. WHITEDENTAL MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA PENNSYLVANIA.

DENTAL CHAIR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 713,282, dated.November 1 1, 1902.

Application filed March 5, 1901. Serial No. 49,800. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ARTHUR W. BROWNE, a citizen of the UnitedStates,residingatPrincebay, in the county of Richmond and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in DentalChairs; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to hydraulic supporting and elevating mechanism fordental chairs; and it consists of certain improvements which will behereinafter described and claimed. I

In the accompanyingdrawings, illustrating a single embodiment of myimprovements, Figure l is a view in side elevation of a dental-chairbase with its supporting and elevating mechanism extended and with itspedestal in vertical section. Fig. 2 is a plan or top View of the same.Fig. 3 is an enlarged view similar to Fig. 2, but with thesupporting-cylinder cap removed to disclose the interior of saidcylinder. Fig. 4 is a central vertical section on the line 4 4 of Fig.3, showing the supporting and elevating mechanism. partly extended andillustrating a portion of the chair-body-supporting yoke which is notshown in said Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a central vertical section on the line 55 of Fig. 3 and with the supporting and elevating columns omitted. Fig.6 is a horizontal sectional view on theline 6 6 of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is apartial view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 4 with the parts in adifferent position. Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional View of the pump, thesection being taken on the irregular line 8 S of Fig. 6. Fig. 9 is aView in side elevation of the pump-piston detached. Fig. 10 is a top orplan view of said pump-piston. Fig. 11 is a plan View of thefootpiece ofthe outlet or lowering valve tripping mechanism detached. Fig. 12 is aView in side elevation of the outlet or lowering valve and its plug.Fig. 13 is a view in side elevation of the tripping mechanism for theoutlet or lowering valve. Fig. 14 is a View in side elevation of therotary lock mechanism. Fig. 15 is a View in side elevation of the innerend of the elevatinglever, and Fig. 16 is a Vertical section of the sameon the line 16 16 of Fig. 3. Fig. 17 is a perspective view of one of theshoes for preventing lateral vibration of the supportingcolumn, and Fig.18 is an end view of the adjustable bearing for the same. Fig. 19 is adetached view of the connection between the elevating-lever and itsrock-shaft, the parts being turned at an angle as compared tocorresponding parts in Fig. 3.

Mounted in a stationary or non-rotatable pedestal A, (see Fig. 1,)provided with the usual closed bottom A and the annular or disk portionA for resting upon the floor, is a rotatable supporting cylinder orframe B, in which is contained the entire chair-body supporting andelevating mechanism. The upper open end of this supporting-cylinder isclosed by a detachable cap 0, provided with an inner cylinder 0'. (SeeFig. 4..) Fitting snugly in said cylinder 0' is the outer memberD of atelescopic or extensible chair-bodysupporting column adapted to beprojected above the supporting-cylinder and telescoped or nested intothe same. To the upper end of the inner member E of saidsupportingcolumn is connected the chair-body by way of the yoke F, thechair-body not being shown herein. An extensibleortelescopicelevatingcolumn located inside the supporting-column.

and vertically movable therewith is formed by an outer member G, movableup'and down in a cylinder H, projecting from the base-piece B of thesupporting-cylinder, and an inner memher or plunger I. The members G andI of the elevating-column are each provided at their lower ends withpiston-packing G and I, respectively, and a passage-way Z) in thebase-piece B affords communication between the cylinder H and a pump,hereinafter described. A rod J, projecting from the basepiece B insidethe cylinder H, is provided with an enlargement or head J at its upperextremity for limiting the extent of upward movement of the member G,the piston end of which is adapted to abut against said head when saidmember is projectedto its extreme upward limit. The member I is madetubular for the purpose of accommodating the rod J when said member hasbeen telescoped into the member G.

. It is desirable that the supporting-column should be as rigid aspossible, and hence free from lateral vibration at all points ofvertical adjustment, particularly when the same has been projected to aconsiderable extent, and for this purpose I have provided simple andefficientmeans now to be described. A block or shoe K, (see Figs. 4 and17,) mounted in the cylinder 0 of the pedestal-cap C, engages alongitudinal groove D in the outer member D of the supporting-column.The groove D is half-round (see Fig. 3) to correspond with thesemicylindrical inner surface K of the shoe K, which shoe is provided onits outer surface with a rounded projection K seated in a correspondingsocket of an adjustable bearing-block L, having threaded connection withthe cap-cylinder O. The cross-section of the shoe on a plane with thehorizontal center of the hemispherical projection K describes a completecircle, the axis of the semicylindrical shoe intersecting the center ofthe hemispherical projection. A shoe constructed in this manner readilyand accurately seats itself in the groove of the column and provides forany slight inaccuracies in fit between the parts, while at the same timepreserving the proper rigidity of the column by preventinglateralvibration thereof. The shoe may be properly adjusted and all wear of theparts taken up by means of the adjustable bearing L. A similar shoe isprovided between the outer and inner members of the column, the bearingL in this instance screwing into a threaded opening d in the outermember D of the supporting-column.

The pump-cylinder M is preferably cast integral with the base-piece B ofthe supporting-cylinder B. Two vertical rods M M, detachably seated insockets m m of the pumpcasting, support a headpiece M loosely fittedupon the top of said rods. A pump-piston M tubular except for its solidhead M is adapted to be reciprocated in the pump-cylinder, and acoiled-wire return-springM surrounding said piston, is connected at oneend thereto about midway the length of said piston and at its oppositeend is connected to the headpiece. A piston-rod M is loosely fitted inthe tubular piston, with its lower end resting upon the solidpiston-head and its up perend projecting above the top of the headpieceM which is provided with a central opening for the passage of this rod.The short arm N of an elevating-lever N bears upon the upper end of thepiston-rod, said short arm being provided with a socket n (see Fig. 16)for fitting upon said rod. A pump constructed in this manner may bereadily assembled and taken apart.

An outlet or lowering valve is indicated at 0, Fig. 8, with its stem 0projecting beyond the under surface of the valve-plug 0 A footpiece 0(see Figs. 8, 11, and 13,) carried at the lower end of a vertical rod 0bears upon the valve-stem O, and when said rod is slightly raised theoutlet-valve is opened. The upper end of the rod 0 is pivoted to a stud0, arranged eccentrically upon the rockshaft 0", to which anoperating-lever O is secured. A coiled pull-spring 0 connected at oneend to a collar 0 secured upon said rod 0 and at its opposite end to anarm or lever 0 projecting from said rock-shaft 0 tends to pull said arm0 downwardly to turn the rock-shaft. As the rod 0 is eccentricallyconnected to said rook-shaft, said rod is forced downwardly and thefootpiece O normally held in its lower or inoperative position, duringwhich the outlet or lowering valve is closed. Pressure upon the lever 0turns the rock-shaft and raises the rod 0 against the stress of thespring 0 and elevates the footpiece 0 which trips or opens theoutletvalve for the purpose of lowering the chairbody. Upon relievingsaid leverof pressure the outlet valve instantly closes, and thechair-body, as usual, is sustained in whatever position of verticaladjustment it may at the moment occupy.

When it is desired to lower the body of a hydraulic dental chair fromits highest to its lowest position, it is necessary to apply pressure tothe lowering-lever during the entire descent of the chair-body. I haveovercome the necessity for this constant application of pressure byproviding means for holding the lowering-valve open after pressure hasbeen removed from the lowering-lever and for automatically releasing thesame when the chairbody reaches its lowest position. The means hereinshown for accomplishing this is in the form of a detent consisting of alug or projection 0 on the arm or lever 0 a plate-spring 0 secured tothe supporting-cylinder B, and a rod or plunger 0, loosely fitted in anopening in the cap 0, or rather in a removable section 0 thereof.

In order to trip the lowering-valve without looking it, thelowering-lever O is pushed inwardly to the usual extent, and whenrelieved of pressure the downward movement of the chair-body isarrested. When, however, the lowering-valve is to be held open until thechair-body reaches its lowest position,the lowering-lever is pushedinwardly to a greater extent than usual. This movement causes the lug Oto ride over the end of the spring 0 which yieldingly looks it in thisposition, with the lowering-valve open, as shown in Fig. 7. Thelowering-valve remains open until the chair-body reaches its lowestposition, when a projection F (see Fig. 4) on the yoke F strikes theupper end of the plunger 0 which releases the lug 0 from engagement withthe spring 0 and allows the valve to close.

The means for locking the rotatable supporting-cylinder B to thenon-rotatable pedestal for preventing rotation of the chair-body is asfollows: A clamp-screw P,having threaded engagement with an opening inthe supporting-cylinder, is adapted to be thrust beyond the outersurface of said cylinder to bear upon the interior of the pedestal A.The means for actuating this clamp-screw to lock or unlock thesupporting-cylinder consists of an arm or lever P, rigidly connected tosaid screw, and a rod P pivoted at one end to said arm or lever andatits opposite end to another arm or lever P", which is. rigidlyconnected to a rock-shaft P provided with an operatinglever P When saidleveris movedinwardly or toward the pedestal, the chair body is lockedagainst rotation, and when moved outwardly into its inoperative positionthe chairbody is free to be rotated at will.

The several operating-levers are so mounted upon the supporting-cylinderas to be readily detachable therefrom for the purpose of facilitatingmanufacture and assembling of parts. The elevating-lever N is connectedto a rock-shaft having two end or journal portions N N in alinement witheach other and connected by a piece N curved or bent to partly surroundthe extensible chair-bodysupporting column, the before-referred-to shortarm N of the elevating-lever projecting from this rock-shaft. Thejournals N N are seated in half-bearings B B formed in the upper end ofthe supporting-cylinder, and corresponding half-bearings C O are formedin the detachable cap C. The respective rockshaft-s O and P of thelowering-lever O and the rotary lock-lever P are each seated inhalf-bearings B and B respectively. formed in the upper end of thesupporting-cylinder, preferaby in alinement with each other. Thedetachable cap is provided with half-bearings C and 0 corresponding withthe halfbearings B and B for completing the bearings for the leverrock-shafts.

When the cap 0 is removed, as shown in Fig. 3, the elevating, lowering,and rotary lock-levers may be readily seated or detached, as desired;but when said cap is in place the said levers are firmly held inposition.

Instead of connecting the elevating-lever N to its rock-shaft in theusual manner I have devised a connection which is readily detachable andat the same time strong and not liable to become loose or accidentallyseparated. The end of the journal N of the rockshaft which projectsoutside the supportingcylinder is formed with an enlargement or head Ncorresponding to a similar enlargement or head N on the inner end of theelevating-lever, the said enlargements having groove-and-tongueconnection. This grooveand-tongue connection (see Fig. 19) may consistof a tongue n on the rock-shaft enlargement and a corresponding groovein the lever enlargement, said tongue and groove extending transverselyacross said enlargements. The parts are firmly held together by a screwN passing through the enlargement or head N of the elevating-lever intothe rock-shaft. Similar connections may be provided for theoperating-levers of the lowering mechanism and the rotary lockmechanism.

Without attempting to enumerate the many advantages of my improvements,it may be briefly stated that they may be embodied in a structure which,as compared to similar structures heretofore devised, is characterizedas follows: It is compact in form, simple inconstruction, easilyassembled and taken apart, provides a Wide range of vertical adjustmentwith great rigidity and steadiness, and affords a greater degree offacility of man ufacture.

Although I have shown but a single embodiment of my improvements, it isunderstood that said improvements may be incorporated in a dental-chairbase difiering more or less in general construction and in detail fromthe one herein shown and described; also, that some of the detailimprovements hereinafter claimed may be used without the others.

I claim as my invention-- 1. In extensible or telescopicchair-bodysupporting columns, the shoe consisting of a semicylindricalportion adapted to slide in a corresponding longitudinal groove in onemember of said column, and a semispherical portion adapted to be seatedin a corresponding bearingin another memberofsaid column, the axis ofthe semicylindrical portion intersecting the center of the semisphericalportion, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. An extensible or telescopic chair-bodysupporting column, incombination with an adjustable block having bearing in one member ofsaid column and provided with asocket, and ashoe havinga roundedprojection seated in the socket of said adjustable block, and alsoprovided with a semicylindrical portion fitted to slide in acorresponding longitudinal groove in another member of said column,substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. In supporting and elevating mechanism for dental chairs, thecombination of an upright pump-cylinder, a piston movable therein andtubular save for its solid head, vertical rods detachably connected withthe pumpcasting, a headpiece detachably fitted upon the upper ends ofsaid rods, a coiled-wire spring surrounding said piston and connectedthereto and to said headpiece, and a piston-rod loosely placed in saidtubular piston and projecting above said headpiece which is providedwith an opening for the passage of said rod, substantially as described.

4. In supporting and elevating mechanism for dental chairs, thecombination of an extensible column, mechanism for elevating saidcolumn, a normally closed outlet or lowering valve, means for trippingor opening said valve for lowering the chair-body, and a detent forholding said valve in its open position, substantially as and for thepurpose described.

5. In supporting and elevating mechanism for dental chairs, thecombination of an extensible column, mechanism for elevating saidcolumn, an outlet or lowering valve, means for tripping or opening saidvalve for &

lowering the chair-body, means for locking said valve in its openposition, and means for automatically releasing said valve when saidchair-body reaches its lowest position, substantially as and for thepurpose described.

6. In supporting and elevating mechanism for dental chairs, thecombination of an extensible column for supporting a chair-body,mechanism for elevating said column, an outlet or lowering valve,mechanism under the control of an operating-lever for tripping oropening said valve for lowering said column, a spring for yieldinglylocking said valve in its open position when said operating-lever hasbeen moved in the proper direction and to the desired extent, a rod orplunger, and a projection at or near the top of said column, saidprojection being adapted to strike said rod or plunger when thechairbody reaches its lowest position,thereby automatically releasingthe mechanism for tripping the outlet-valve and allowing the same toclose, substantially as and for the purpose described.

7. In supporting and elevating mechanism for dental chairs, thecombination of a nonrotatable pedestal, a supporting cylinder mounted torotate therein, a clam p-screw having bearing in saidsupporting-cylinder near the lower end thereof and adapted to bear uponsaid pedestal to lock said supportingcylinder against rotation in saidpedestal, an arm or lever connected to said clamp-screw inside saidsupporting-cylinder, a rod pivoted at one end to said arm or lever,another arm or lever pivoted to the opposite end of said rod and rigidlyconnected to a rock-shaft having bearing at or near the upper end ofsaid supporting-cylinder above the top of said nonrotatable pedestal,and an actuating-lever exterior to said supporting-cylinder andpedestal, and connected to said rock-shaft, substantially as described.

8. In supporting and elevating mechanism for dental chairs, thecombination of a supporting cylinder or frame formed with twohalf-bearings in its upper end in alinement with each other, anextensible chair-bodysupporting column therein, a pump also located insaid cylinder, a rock-shaft consisting of two journals in alinement witheach other and connected by a central portion curved to partly surroundthe said extensible chair-body-supporting plunger, the said journalsbeing loosely seated in said half-bearings, an arm projecting from saidrock-shaft inside said cylinder for operating said pump, anelevating-lever connected to said rock-shaft outside of said cylinder,and a detachable cap for closing the open upper end of said cylinder,said cap being formed with half-bearings corresponding to saidhalf-bearings in said cylinder and adapted to hold said rock-shaft inplace, substantially as described.

5). In supporting and elevating mechanism for dental chairs, thecombination of a nonrotatable pedestal, a supporting cylinder or framemounted to rotate therein and containing chair-body-lowering mechanism,and mechanism for locking said cylinder against rotation in saidpedestal, two half-bearings B and B formed in the upper end of saidcylinder in alinement with each other, a rockshaft loosely seated ineach of said half-bearings, connections between the respectiverock-shafts and the said mechanisms contained in said cylinder,actuating-levers connected to the respective rock-shafts outsidesaidcylinder, and a detachable cap for closing the open upper end of saidcylinder, said cap being provided with half-bearings corresponding tothe half-bearings in said cylinder for holding said rock-shafts inplace, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ARTHUR VV. BROWNE. Witnesses:

W. LITTELL WHITE, SEYMOUR CASE.

